FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2001
Baseball
team prepares for upcoming league play
by Kate
Levdansky Petrikis
staff writer
The Penn State Behrend Lions baseball
team went to Fort Pierce, Florida, from March
3-11 to compete in the Florida Coast
Tournament. “Our team was presented with
a challenge of 10 varsity games during spring
training,” said head coach Paul Benim.
Behrend started the tournament on March 4,
beating Wilkes, 5-3. However, they lost their
second game of the day to Elizabethtown, 8-
11. The next day they won against Anna Maria
7-4 and against Norwich 7-2. On March 6,
Behrend won, 13-12, in a close game against
Anna Maria. However, they lost later in the
day to Franklin and Marshall, 6-11, and again
the following day 1-10. On March 8, the Lions
beat Eastern 7-3, but fell to Wilmington 3-6.
Behrend wrapped up the tournament March
9 against Elizabethtown, losing the game 2-
3. Benim said, “we didn’t perform as well as
we expected or wanted, but we will keep
moving in a positive direction.”
Senior Matt Slavonic hit .405 (15-37) in
spring training with 6 RBl’s, and was named
“AMCC’s Best of the Rest” for his efforts.
Slavonic said, “I think Behrend has the
potential and the experience to go far, and I
believe we are all ready to accept that
challenge and make it become reality. Spring
training was a great experience, and we
PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA
The baseball team is practicing hard to take on teams in the Florida Coast Tourna
ment held in Fort Pierce, Florida.
ida trip gives softball team playing experience
Flori
by Mike Bello
staff writer
Just like thousands of other college
students around the country, the Behrend
softball team was enjoying the warm weather
in Florida over spring break. Unlike those
other students though, the team was busy
participating in the Cocoa Beach
Tournament, a warm-up to the regular season
schedule. Playing eight games over a period
of five days, the Lions began their season
with three wins and five losses against a
variety of different teams.
Head coach Cindy Jacobelli stated, “we
learned a lot from the games we played. We
played several Division II teams as well as
NAIA teams, so the caliber of the teams was
tough. We moved people around a lot, just
to see how they responded in different
positions and spots in the batting order. The
team is starting to get used to each other on
the field. It is hard to do that in the gym
when you are unable to set up a full infield,
let alone outfield. We still have some kinks
to work out, but that comes with time.”
Unfortunately, any kinks in the Lions’
game will have to be worked out in practice.
Behrend’s home games on Wednesday,
March 14, against Baldwin Wallace and
Monday, March 19, versus Thiel had to be
cancelled due to poor field conditions.
Meanwhile, Friday’s game on March 16, at
Washington & Jefferson was still up in the
air by press time as to if the two teams would
be able to compete. If the weather permits
and the Behrend field is ready by next week,
then the Lions would play host to John
Carroll on Thursday, March 22. John Carroll
posted a 24-16 record last year and will be
looking to build upon that success this year
with a crop of talented freshmen as well as
some solid all-around pitching.
Behrend began their spring training on
Monday, March 5, with games against both
Dominican and Rochester. In the first game,
Behrend’s offense showed no signs of
weakness, batting .441 as a team in posting
a 15-7 win over Dominican. Mandy Bodnor,
last year’s AMCC co-MVP, hit 2 home runs
in the game, including one off the left-field
scoreboard, and had eight RBIs as well.
Rose Boni drove in two runs and scored two
runs, as every position player scored at least
one run. The win in their very first game
was dampened, however, by the news that
junior center fielder Kelly Woods, one of last
year’s offensive leaders, broke her hand
sliding into second base. Woods is out
indefinitely and quite possibly for the entire
season.
In the second game, Behrend’s offense
continued their hot streak, this time batting
learned that there is room for improvement
and there are some adjustments that need to
be made, but that there is also plenty of time
to make this season great.”
Throughout spring training, the strengths of
the team seem to be the drive that the Lions
have toward winning, along with the talented
pitching staff and the powerful hitting.
Slavonic said, “our team has to stay confident
and believe that we can go out there and win
every game.”
The baseball team is practicing 6 days a
week in order to prepare for the season ahead
of them. Next up on the schedule for the
Behrend Lions are contests on March 17 at
Oberlin and on March 20 at Grove City.
Following those two challenges, the Lions will
be participating in the Ohio Wesleyan
tournament on March 22-25. Last season
Ohio Wesleyan University entered the
Division 111 tournament, number one in the
country. Matt Slavonic looks forward to the
challenge by saying, “we have a tough
weekend next week when we play 8 games in
4 days, and after that I believe that the road to
the AMCC championship will come through
Behrend. We will win it.” Coach Benim
agreed by stating, “we are eager to get tested
again, and there is no better way than to
participate in such a high quality tournament
as Ohio Wesleyan University.”
»>’> ,y<
.468 as a team in a 14-10 win over Rochester.
Bodnor was 2-3 at the plate with 4 runs scored
and 4 RBl’s, including another home run.
Nichole Spindler drove in 4 runs in the game,
while Amy Hunter and Becky Rishel each
scored 3 runs and had 3 hits.
The next day Behrend went up against
Georgian Court and then Urbana. This time
the Lions did not have as much luck at the
plate, getting shutout by Georgian 3-0 and
then losing to Urbana 14-8. In both games,
Behrend could only manage 7 hits, including
two doubles by Cheryl Peterson against
Georgian, but were at least able to capitalize
somewhat against Urbana. Jennifer
Pinkhouse had two hits and three RBIs in
game two, but the Lions could not overcome
Urbana’s strong offensive output.
Two days later, on March 8, Behrend had a
rematch with Urbana. The Lions were still
unable to contain Urbana’s offense, and
although the Lions kept the game close, they
were still defeated by an 11-8 score. Bodnor
once again sent one over the fences, her fourth
of the season, and had 3 hits and 3 RBIs to
lead the attack. The Lions, who up to this
point had been fielding at a .967 clip,
committed 7 errors in the game as well.
On Friday, March 9, Behrend completed
their Florida trip with their last 3 games. In
the first game, the Lions had all 3 aspects of
their game working for them: hitting, pitching,
and fielding. The Lions scored 11 runs, and
were flawless in the fielding in posting an 11-
1 victory over Philadelphia Bible College.
Becky Corbin and Bodnor each had two hits,
including two doubles for Bodnor, and along
with Hunter and Brandy Polinick, all scored
two runs each. In the Lions’ second game of
the day, against Brandeis, they were unable
to capitalize on 10 hits and 6 walks, losing by
a score of 4-3. Spindler drove in two runs for
Behrend, but that was about all the Lions could
push across the plate. In the last game against
Case Western Reserve, Behrend’s offense
once again struggled as they lost 15-3. The
Lions could only come up with two hits,
including a three-run home run by Bodnor, in
running their record to 3-5 for the year.
Bodnor, out of Shaler High School in
Pittsburgh, was rewarded for her outstanding
play by being the first person this season
named as AMCC softball player of the week.
Bodnor was 12-26 (.461) at the plate, scoring
12 runs, driving in 19, and smashing 5 home
runs, patting the record books as Behrend’s
career leading in home runs and RBIs. If
Mother Nature does not cooperate, then the
Lions will be stuck once again practicing
indoors. No matter what happens though, the
entire team will be looking for a chance to
improve on their spring debut with their
conference opponents right around the comer.
SPORTS
Slavonic is swinging
by Jeanine Noce
assistant sports editor
Matt Slavonic is swinging into
the spring baseball season with
the Behrend baseball players.
Slavonic plays the position of
second base and is definitely
helping the team with his
experience of sixteen years. He
and the other twenty-four
members of the Behrend baseball
team have been conditioning and
practicing since January 16. The
men are playing towards the
ECAC (Eastern Collegiate
Athletic Conference) title this
spring and with the help of
Slavonic, the team has a good
chance.
Slavonic came to Behrend
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
and is majoring in MIS
(Management Information
Systems) and minoring in
Management. He has played on
Behrend’s baseball team during
all four years of his college
experience.
He attended Baldwin High
School where he played baseball
during all four years. He started
as a member of the freshman
baseball team; then during his
sophomore, junior, and senior
years he was a member of the
varsity s baseball team. Slavonic
has been playing baseball since
the age of six and hopes to help
Behrend’s team with his
experience and skills. Slavonic
also played for Behrend during
the fall baseball season. Training
for the fell season began during
the second week of September.
Behrend played eight games and their record
was 5-3.
The men’s baseball team has been
practicing in the gym, working around the
basketball teams’ hectic schedules. The
players have also been swimming in the new
ARC (Athletic Recreation Center) since after
the winter break. As soon as the weather
becomes permissible to practice outside, the
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into spring baseball with a forceful drive
players will practice daily from 4:00 PM until
6:00 PM The practices will be held on the
newly restructured Behrend Fields.
Slavohic believes that initially it is difficult
to balance both baseball and school and
stated, “once a player gets used to balancing
baseball and academics the two do not seem
very difficult.” While he is a member of the
baseball team, Slavonic is also a member of
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Delivery Hours: 11:00 am -10:30 pm
PHOTO BY BECKY WEINDORF
the SAAC (Student Athletic
Advisory Council).
Being a member of the baseball
team is enjoyable to Slavonic. He
believes that coach Paul Bcnim
is extremely helpful. He stated
that “Coach Benim can really
relate to the players. Any member
can talk to him about sports,
academics or other concerns.”
The assistant coaches, Marc
Burchanowski and Corey
Walters, have both been a great
deal of help to him as well.
Slavonic’s favorite experience
was during the 1999 baseball
season when lie was a
sophomore. The baseball team
made it to the ECAC
championships for the first time
ever. Unfortunately, they were
defeated by Frostburg State
during the first round. In this
competition, Behrend’s baseball
team was one of four teams in the
first round. He also enjoyed the
recent trip that the team took. The
entire baseball team traveled to
Fort Pierce, Florida, from March
3 through March 10. Ten games
were played against Wilkes,
Elizabethtown, Anna Maria,
Norwich, Franklin and Marshall,
Eastern and Wilmington.. The
team won five games and lost
five. The team also played two
junior varsity games against
Lansing and Mitchell. However,
these two games did not count for
the regular season total. The
freshman and sophomore
members played mostly to gain
experience in the junior varsity
games. Behrend was defeated by
two respectable Junior College
teams in these two games; however, the
players were able to experience playing at the
college level.
The baseball team will be playing their first
game at Oberlin College in Ohio, on Saturday,
March 17, at 1:00 p.m. Slavonic and the other
twenty-four baseball players are definitely
going to be a team with an immense amount
of experience and skill.